Hasler Homes Ltd. believes in taking its time when it comes to building a home. “We are not about speed as much as trying to make things perfect,” co-owner and President Greg Hasler says. “Timelines and budgets are important, but what we want most is for our customers to be amazed by what we do and feel that we truly completed their dream home.”

The Vancouver-based company strongly emphasizes quality in all of the custom and spec homes it completes. Hasler Homes typically builds three to four homes averaging in price from $1 million to $2 million annually. In addition, the company performs renovation projects typically valued between $500,000 and $800,000. The company self-performs many aspects of its projects including concrete forming and foundation, framing and finishing.

“We don’t just build to code, we go far above it,” Hasler says, noting his company’s quality measures include waiting until a home’s moisture level is below 15 percent before installing drywall. This prevents bubbling or other defects.

The best compliment a homebuilder can ever receive is when a past customer buys another home from their company, according to Rotell(e) Development Co. President & CEO Peter Rotelle. “Every year the number of buyers that are repeat Rotelle buyers increases and that doesn’t happen by chance,” Rotelle says.

Rotelle Development has been satisfying homeowners in southwest Pennsylvania for nearly 30 years. The company started in 1989 building one house a year. In 2017, it will complete nearly 100 projects. “We take our customer service extremely seriously,” he explains. “In this day and age, if you don’t, the whole world will know about it.”

The beliefs of its founder primed Nexus Properties to undertake the reimagining of downtown Glassboro, N.J.

By Tim O’Connor

For most developers, a project is a market opportunity. It’s a calculation of the investment cost, time and potential. That’s all true of Nexus Properties’ mixed-use, redevelopment project in Glassboro, N.J., but the projects also have a more personal connection to COO and CFO Dante Germano. Germano grew up Glassboro – Nexus is renting office space in his uncle’s former bakery during the project – and he sees the development as a chance to revitalize his hometown.

It is through Germano’s background that Nexus came to the project. Even as his career took him away from Glassboro, Germano kept in touch with many of the borough’s leaders and officials. So when another developer ran into problems seeing the town’s downtown redevelopment masterplan through to completion, Glassboro asked Nexus to take over in 2011.

When Ashton Gray Development builds a new multi-million-dollar home, hotel or retirement community, it leaves behind a mark of elegance, sophistication and luxury that is unsurpassed in the Houston market. “Everything we do has to look a certain way: high-end, luxurious and upscale,” President Shaun Vembutty says. “It has to be consistent with the brand. We are known for ‘Building Luxury, Creating Equity.’”

With nearly a decade of experience in real estate development, Vembutty found the luxury residential market to be his niche. Although Ashton Gray Development used to build custom homes for private clients in the past, they only focus on building spec homes now. “We have turned down at least a dozen custom build projects in the past 6 months”, adds Vembutty.

“We are in the super luxury homebuilding market,” he continues. “Typically, spec builders are nervous to operate in the luxury market because it requires a lot more capital. As a result, we have very little competition in the luxury market; our margins are much larger on these projects and we have investors who participate in a lot of projects, which gives us the ability to execute multiple high-dollar projects at the same time.”

When Icon Building Group creates a space, it makes sure it uniquely fits the needs of its clients. “There’s nothing we won’t do to help somebody create what they want,” President and CEO Charlie Murphy declares.

Based in Kildeer, Ill., Icon builds custom homes in its own communities or on lots its customers own, and performs additions and renovations in existing homes. Icon also has strategic partnerships setup with architectural and interior design firms, thus creating a single point of contact, from concept to move in, for its clients. Murphy started the company in 2008 when he and a partner invested in a subdivision development.

Designing homes is his passion. Andrew Zahn believes in the power of good design and the value of sustainability. As owner and head project manager of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Zahn Development, he oversees all construction operations from start to finish. That includes working closely with his architect.

"I'm not a typical contractor," Zahn says. "Im really focused on design and I get involved with materials and finishes."

Past and present collide in Woodruff Development and Woodruff Property Management’s new mixed-use development community. By Janice Hoppe-Spiers

Southern hospitality meets modern conveniences in Columbus, Ga.’s Old Town, a new mixed-use development by Woodruff Development Co. and Woodruff Property Management Co. “The theme of Old Town is what we love about yesterday but combined with the modern technology and conveniences of today,” says Lucy Jones, president of Woodruff Property Management Co.

Old Town sits on 300 acres in Georgia’s second-largest city and became prime real estate in the late 1990s, which owner Burns Koonce anticipated when he purchased the land in 1950. Koonce’s oldest child, Calvin Koonce, now controls the property and partnered with Woodruff Development in 2003 to explore development opportunities.

“Calvin has been acquiring land over the last 20 years and assembling the 300 acres,” Jones says. “It is in the heart of north Columbus and one mile from the major shopping district. You usually have to go outside of town to develop because there is no land left, but this land has been warehoused for years. Location is everything and the timing is right.”

Beau Development aims to exceed its customers’ expectations by building high-quality, conveniently located homes with innovative tech features.

By Bianca Herron

Beau Granger, CEO of Beau Development, was born to build. In 2002, Granger started his own company specializing in custom luxury homebuilding, following his father’s – Pete Granger – and older brothers’ – Cary and Darin Granger – footsteps. Granger’s father had started his own company, Pete Granger Inc., in the 1970s. Like his brothers, Beau Granger started working for his father’s company after graduating. Granger worked first as a framer and then worked his way up to becoming a project manager for other developers and eventually started his own company.

“Even our younger brother, Steele Granger, has started his own company,” Granger says proudly. “Although we all are our own separate entities, we all work out of one central office in Seattle to share overhead expenses, including office space, employees and so forth.”